Red Arrows fly high at RAF Cosford Air Show

Dizzying displays, all the fun of the fair and sunny skies made this year's RAF Cosford Air Show a fly-away success, organisers said today.

Historic planes wowed crowds as they performed a range of acrobatics in the skies around South Staffordshire and Shropshire.

More than 50,000 visitors from across the country were wide-eyed as aircraft such as Typhoon F2's, Hunter T7's and Spitfires thundered overhead.

And, despite the massive crowd, there was none of the traffic chaos which plagued last year's event when thousands of people were turned away because car parks ran out of space.

Jam-busting measures ensured traffic remained free-flowing throughout yesterday's spectacle.

Today delighted Squadron Leader Graham Lee said: "The feedback we have had has been incredibly positive. People travel from across the country and we always try and put on a good and varied show - there's no doubt we did that this weekend."

"Queues of traffic were about two miles at their longest but they took no longer than about 25 minutes to negotiate, compared with queues stretching about eight miles last year."

The world-famous RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team painted the skies the colour of the Union Jack, while the RAF Falcons Freefall Parachute Team performed a daredevil jump.

Other highlights included a fly past by a Typhoon jet, which reached speeds of 520mph, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, marking the 70th anniversary of The Few.

On the ground, the young and young-at-heart climbed into the cockpit of planes, while fun fair rides and a street market also proved popular. Anne-Marie Hellowell, a 32-year-old child minder of Telford, took her three children Courtney, 11, Kyle, 9, and Hayden, 5 to the event.

She said: "This is the first time I've ever been but the kids have come before and they made us come again because they enjoyed it so much. There was so much to do and look at, it was absolutely fantastic."

Mature student Nick Cannon, aged 40, of Cannock, took his son Kyle, 14, and eight-year-old daughter Ellesse.

He said: "It was a great day. The Typhoons were especially impressive.

"Kyle thinks he might want to be a pilot when he's older and this was a real eye-opener for him."